Trail Snacks, Issue 1, 2026

Yep, I’m still here!

Guys welcome to 2026, it’s been a minute.

I’m currently tapering for another crack at the Tarawera 100 mile, so I’ve been happily chilling and consuming more content than I have in a while.

I’m not hear to opine about “the state of the sport” 🙄, the influencers of the 200 milers, or who is fake beefing with who, I’m sure you can go down the rabbit hole of all that on your own, should you feel the need for a little extra torture in your already pain ridden life as an ultra runner. But I digress….

Before we all get blasted with the same overhyped shit as we enter Golden Ticket season, here are some of the top YouTube videos and films that popped up in the last few weeks.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock this holiday period, you would have seen the media in the sport is besotted with non trail runners coming entering trail running. It’s like the longest tease in history.

But that being said, I actually really enjoyed the Molly Seidel movie put out by Aravaipa this week.

I think what set it apart is it didn’t follow the usual formula of most trail running films, which for better or worse follow the script of “runner trains for a race, runner runs race, runner debriefs race”. It’s more of an intro piece to Molly, stroking on her motivations, her career thus far and her relationship with running in general.

One that was a surprise on the day, but less so 6 months later (spoiler alert) was Will Murray’s victory and course record at Javelina Jundred this past October.

This one follows the formula you would expect, especially if you know the ending; but Will is an engaging athlete and the music and editing is great.

Most film makers do a pre interview and a post interview with an athlete for a film, but it seems for FreeTrail’s piece on Zach Millers HardRock experience this year, they only spoke to him after the race, giving the entire film the vibe of a visual race recap.

It’s hard to tell if it’s pre written or if Zach was provided the video and told to commentate over it, but it feels like Zach is reading the audio book of his running blog. I don’t hate it, it’s a different approach to the standard race recap format and frankly who doesn’t love Zach content!

The return of the Vlogs

2025 saw the return of Vlogs and Blogs (oh sorry newsletters) in a big way.

Continuing to impress into 2026, is the content coming out of Team Puppi.

From his Instagram, to his YouTube and Substack, Fran doesn’t shy away from sharing his thoughts on everything from pizza to politics.

You’ll need the English subtitles for his YouTube, but he is clearly committed to sharing and I’m here for it.

Another successful OCC athlete, Jeshrun Small also has been putting out quality YouTube content. Boosted recently by a Boulder Boys shout out, Jesh’s page has only continued to improve in the past year.

If you like training and workout videos, Jenn Litcher is continuing to document her big workouts over on YouTube.

I hate workouts (doing them and watching them) so I don’t love this style, but I do like the behind the scenes and Jenn is a fun person to follow.

Hans the kid continues to ride the fine line of influencer and professional athlete. It’s fun and his videos are hilarious. The kid has talents and he’s a great fun follow!

I’m sure I’ve missed some, but my Fantasy Free Trail needs tweaking and my suitcase is still spread out over five piles in three different rooms.

What are your never miss YouTube videos?

Tag below so I can jump on board too!